Doctor's Orders
by Kristen3
Summary: When Daphne is injured, Niles insists on taking her to the hospital, despite her fears. But getting Daphne the care she needs might not be so easy.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**I had planned on doing this as an AU version of "Midwinter Night's Dream," but decided not to. In any case, it does take place early on in the series. And obviously this isn't a one-shot, so there's more to come! :)

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In less than 24 hours, Maris would be returning from her month-long tour of Europe. When Daphne had casually mentioned that she would be glad to come over and help Niles get the mansion ready, he'd quickly agreed, and given his staff the night off. Marta and the others had looked at him strangely when he'd told them. But he ignored their protests about "Missy Crane" and sent them all home to their families. In just a few moments, Daphne would be arriving. Or at least he hoped so. Seattle had chosen tonight to remind people why it was considered one of the rainiest parts of the country by delivering a huge thunderstorm. When the weather took a turn for the worse, Niles had called his brother, planning to tell Daphne not to come. He hated the thought of her driving in such dangerous conditions. But Frasier had informed him that Daphne had already left, so now all he could do was wait.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Niles opened it, expecting to see Daphne, looking as radiant as ever. But what he saw was something entirely different. Daphne stood there, soaked to the skin. There was mud all over her clothes, and she appeared to have been crying. Niles' heart broke at the sight. "Daphne, what happened?" He helped her inside.

"I slipped and fell in your driveway. I've gotten mud all over me clothes, and now I look like a mess." She once again seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Let's get you in front of a fire so you can warm up a bit." Niles went to find towels to help her dry off as best she could. When he handed them to her, she looked at them as if she were afraid to take one. "What's the matter?" Niles asked, now even more worried about her.

"Well, when I fell, I tried to catch meself with me arm. But it didn't work."

"Let's have a look at it," Niles said, gently pushing her sleeve up. As he did, he tried not to think of how badly he wanted to hold her and never let go. He immediately saw that her wrist was badly swollen. He touched the area, trying his best to be gentle. Daphne winced immediately. "Daphne, this looks like it could be sprained. We'd better get you to the hospital."

Daphne looked at him, clearly frightened by the idea. "You're a doctor. Couldn't you just take care of it for me?"

"Daphne, I'm a psychiatrist. This is a little outside my area of expertise."

"But, Dr. Crane, I've never been to an American hospital. Not as a patient, anyway."

Niles took hold of her other hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'll take you there myself, and I'll stay with you if you want me to."

"But what about Mrs. Crane? Don't you have to get this place ready for her?"

Niles looked around and sighed. The staff had done an admirable job of keeping the place running smoothly in his wife's absence. If things were less than perfect, well, he'd just have to face the consequences later. "I can worry about Maris later. Right now, the only thing I'm concerned about is that wrist of yours," he said. He looked into her eyes, and saw that she was still afraid. "It'll be all right, I promise," he said.

"A-all right, Dr. Crane. If you insist."

Niles gave her a comforting smile and began leading her out to his car.


	2. Chapter 2

They arrived at the hospital a few minutes later. After a short conversation with the receptionist, they were directed to a bed and told to wait for a doctor.

"I'm not sure this was such a good idea," Daphne said. "We're going to be here all night!"

"Don't worry," Niles replied. "I'm sure someone will come and look at your arm soon. And until then, I won't leave your side."

Though Daphne was angry at herself for getting into this situation, she appreciated Dr. Crane's kindness. There were many days when Daphne seriously questioned her decision to take this new job. Living with the older Dr. Crane and his father wasn't exactly paradise. But this Dr. Crane seemed to go out of his way to make her feel welcome. She supposed that with his troubled marriage, he could use a friend. Daphne did her best to smile, in spite of the pain in her arm. "Thank you," she said.

"Don't mention it."

Just then, a doctor came in, carrying a clipboard. "Let's see...Daphne Moon," he muttered, reading from her chart. "Possible sprained wrist."

"That's me," Daphne said. "And this would be me wrist." She held her arm out.

"You're not from here, are you?" the doctor asked.

Daphne rolled her eyes. Why did people always ask that? Was her English accent really _that_ strange? "I'm from Manchester. England."

The doctor nodded. "I see. And do you have a green card?"

"No, but I've got me work visa." Daphne motioned for Niles to give her her purse. He did. Daphne rummaged through it, finally finding her wallet. She showed the man her drivers license and work visa. "Now, can you please look at me wrist? It really does hurt!"

The doctor took a moment to look over the documents. "Well, Miss Moon, I'm afraid there's not really much I can do without a green card."

"What?" Daphne asked, incredulous.

"This hospital has had some bad experiences lately with immigrants."

"What kind of 'bad experiences'?" Niles asked, unable to believe this was happening.

The doctor turned his attention to Niles. "Well, we've had instances where we've treated a patient, only to have them leave the country without paying a dime."

Niles felt anger rising inside of him. "I can assure you, that won't happen here. Daphne is not a flight risk. She has a job."

"Now, Dr. Crane, I can speak for meself," Daphne interrupted. "I'm not planning to leave the States, I swear. I just want someone to take a look at me wrist."

The doctor hesitated, still unsure what to do.

Before he could think, Niles heard himself saying, "If this is just a question of money, give _me_ the bill. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure Daphne gets the help she needs."

The doctor looked at Niles, seeing he was sincere. "Well, we're busy tonight, thanks to this rainstorm. I'll try to get to you. I'm sorry." With that one last apology, the doctor left, closing the privacy curtain behind him.

"Daphne, I am so sorry," Niles said, immediately approaching her. "But I promise you, I'm not going to let you suffer any more than you already have."

Daphne sighed in frustration. "It's all right, Dr. Crane. This sort of thing happens all the time. People notice me accent, or they see I'm not rich like you and your brother, and they think they can just walk right over me."

Niles' heart broke, thinking that this was what she had experienced in a country that was supposed to be a land of opportunity to immigrants. He reached out, taking hold of her good hand. "We're not going to wait around here," he said. "I told you I'd make sure you were taken care of, and I will. Come with me." He helped her down off the exam table, and led her by the hand down the hall.

"Where are we going?" asked a bewildered Daphne.

"Upstairs," Niles replied.


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't understand," Daphne said. "Where are you taking me?" She barely noticed as Niles led her into an elevator and pushed a button.

"I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner," Niles replied. "You see, this is the same hospital where Maris has all her...surgeries. I can just take you upstairs and get someone to take a look at you."

Daphne looked at him in disbelief. "So, you're going to have a plastic surgeon look at me sprained wrist?"

"Daphne, do you trust me?" Niles whispered, looking into those brown eyes of hers. He knew he could never get tired of them. Where Maris' eyes were usually narrowed at him in anger, Daphne's eyes always seemed to be full of life and excitement.

"Of course, Dr. Crane." Daphne's answer came immediately.

"Good. Then just leave everything to me." Just then, the elevator stopped, and they got out. They walked quickly down the hall. Niles stopped a nurse. After a quick conversation, they were pointed to door just a few more feet from where they were. Niles led Daphne into an office, where a doctor was apparently making notes on her patients.

"Dr. Marshall?"

At the sound, the young doctor raised her head. "Dr. Crane. What are you doing here? Your wife isn't here, is she?"

Niles laughed. "No, Maris is just returning from Europe. But I came to ask a favor of you." He turned to Daphne. "You see, my...friend, Daphne has a badly injured wrist. The doctor downstairs was too busy to take a look at her, so I was hoping maybe you could help us."

Dr. Marshall stood up. "You know that this isn't really the type of medicine I practice, right?"

Niles nodded, knowing she would need a bit of convincing. "Yes, I know that this is a rather unusual request. But Maris has been a patient of yours for many years, and I've seen how well you take care of your patients. Couldn't you please do me this one favor?"

"Please?" Daphne added. "I'm in an awful lot of pain."

The doctor looked from Daphne to Niles. This was certainly not something she'd ever expected to see. But she could tell that, whoever this Daphne person was, she was clearly in need of medical attention. "All right, Daphne. Why don't you show me your wrist?"

Niles watched while the doctor tended to Daphne's injury. He felt a wave of relief, knowing he'd been able to get her the help she needed. The idea of Daphne ever being in pain was something he could not stand. But then, another thought struck him. Dr. Marshall was one of Maris' favorite physicians. Would she tell Maris about this incident? He hoped not. She would surely not be pleased. But, even Maris' wrath was unimportant when compared to Daphne's well-being. He knew that discretion was an important part of any doctor's code of ethics. He only hoped that Dr. Marshall felt the same way.

A few minutes later, Daphne approached him. "I feel much better now!" She held up her arm, which now had a bandage wrapped around it. "When I get back home, I need to put some ice on it. I suppose your brother won't be too happy about this, seeing as I'll need a few days' rest before I can do most of me chores again."

"Don't worry, Daphne. I'll make sure Frasier gives you all the recovery time you need." They both began walking back towards the elevators. When they stepped inside, Daphne took Niles by complete surprise. She hugged him tightly for a long moment. The embrace left him gasping for breath.

"Daphne, what -" Niles asked, still in a state of shock.

"I just don't know how to thank you for all you did tonight."

Niles smiled, glad to see her so happy. "It was nothing, Daphne. I'm just glad I could let you know that not everyone believes in mistreating someone just because they're different."

Daphne considered this for a moment. "Well, I'm very glad you did. If there's ever anything I can do for you, just let me know!"

For a moment, Niles' thoughts raced, making him imagine things that he knew he shouldn't. "I appreciate that offer, and I promise to keep it in mind. But for right now, I think we should get you home so you can rest."

Daphne nodded. Despite everything that had happened tonight, she was in a remarkably good mood. She couldn't quite explain it. But there was one thing she did know without a doubt: She and Niles Crane were going to be very good friends for a long time to come.

**The End**


End file.
